Update 07/21/2013-We’re back from the first trip to UVa Medical Center. I want to thank all of you for you thoughts, prayers, and messages of encouragement. They confirmed that I have tumor re-growth on both sides of the space. All we’re waiting for now is for me to be off of my medications for 6 weeks and medical insurance authorization. The reason for this is being off the medications makes the tumor cells fully reactive to the radiation.
We have learned a valuable but costly lesson through this process. Whenever you learn that you have been diagnosed with a serious medical complication or condition, do no hesitate to demand that your docs at the very least consult with a research hospital. We made some choices for my initial treatment due to funds, insurance, and logistics that we made because of pretentious and sometimes arrogant attitudes of the docs we were referred to locally. If you don’t have a lot of money or insurance coverage, and the best docs available assure you that they will be able to treat you and cure you, let that be a red flag. A particular radiation oncologist is a red flag standard bearer as far as I’m concerned. In VA, one of the docs I saw was Dr. Mary Vance. She is one of the real rocket scientists in treating these tumors. She said to a resident who she is personally mentoring in front of us that too many people with cancers are marginally treated by docs who were either asleep during those lectures in med school or just forgot what they learned. I let the stress and confusion of the situation and the fast pace of intervention on the front end cause me to rely on what was familiar; what was close to home. A phone call or email between professionals is usually free. Insist that your doc does that at the very least.
I have been lurking around some, but haven’t posted much lately and been lazy about keeping in touch. Ever since I sold the Trailer Trash a few months ago I haven’t been doing much of anything with fishing except thinkin